Bright things

Hi Anna :)

The last couple of weeks have been a  rollercoaster of emotions and it certainly didn't help that I wasn't 100% in health.

Luckily I was OK for Em's and my faux farewells. Speaking of which, I had a great time and it was a good turn out considering it was very last minute. I struggled through Saturday and I'm still feeling exhausted. I keep thinking I'm going far far away felt sad about being away from these wonderful people, but then I remember that I'm only 2 hours drive away!

My favourite photo of the night! I didn't even have to ask you lot to do a silly pose :p I'm sure you didn't need the support to stand up and you were just posing...

Since then I've been madly planning for my first week at school and also doing some furniture shopping for the move down. I've also resorted to some retail therapy. Spending before earning is never a good thing.  These bright things make me happy :)

This is my 20th or so tub of body butter. But the first time I've tried it in PEACH! It's limited edition but it reminds me of a cross between the grapefruit and satsuma.

It's hard to find such a pretty journal. Saving the first page for my new adventure!

I was in Target and couldn't say no to this knitted jumper. Would go very well with my leopard hat from Colorrun.

My neon green banana ear dazzlers!

Five more days!

Vintage love and prints

Hi Anna

I'm going to do two posts in a day. This one is to say how much I LOVE my new skirts and dress from a vintage shop in Northbridge. I think it's called Miss Brown's or something like that. Ching and I wandered down William Street after a very scrumptious brunch. I wasn't intending on doing any purchasing but I walked out with two skirts and a dress.

Little brunch at Tuck Shop

Love my smoked salmon!

  I have never felt so excited about clothes in Perth before but I love anything vintage and one off pieces. I also have a thing for unusual prints and long skirts/ maxis sand the floral one is a dream combination.We haven't figured out what the red print is about but I love how abstract it is. There were so many prints to choose from and quite a large selection of items. A lot of them were half price too!

Midi skirt, knee length skirt and a knee length dres. All $30 each. I couldn't resist!

 

 Perth definitely has started to catch up with the rest of the world. I can't wait to see more of these stores with one off affordable vintage pieces that are actually wearable.

The sales lady Mary was so helpful (turns out she lived in Hampstead too!)  and she had such a delicate and English accent. Made me miss London a bit. HI PENE if you're reading :) Actually I dedicate this post to you because you love vintage too!

Also, love the print of this Zara scarf Ching got for me from her holiday in the states. She knows I love my animals and prints :)

Ribbit

Hi Anna!

Indeed it was a hot morning and what followed, a very hot day. Would love to make it to the beach with you but I need to save some of my skin for the rest of the summer. Oh and for this weekend too :)

I chose to stay indoors today even though I had a few errands to do.

This is what I drew today.

Graceful treefrog. I call it My Frog Prince.

This is what I bought yesterday. They were all half price so I couldn't say no. 

Coral, red and nude.

This is what happened on Friday. 

Really friendly strangers that really know how to party

Spontaneously I went dancing and had excessive amounts of fun. I danced... and danced.. and danced... in heels! Four days later I'm still paying for it :(  It was a great night and felt as if I was on a mini escapade because we were at Elephant and Barrow and Mustang Bar and I haven't been there in years. There was live music at both places and the atmosphere was definitely conducive to dancing all night long.

Back to the topic of footwear and wise footwear choices, would you consider pair of those Vikram gorilla feet lookalike things. Or is it called bikram? No, that's yoga. 

I love your terrarium! That is sad to hear that poor Phyllis didn't make it over the break. Do you have a name for your new plant?

Also, you have to show me this video that Chinny made. He seems to have a talent in the video field if I recall correctly, they can be rather hilarious if they aren't about you.

Enjoy the beach!

Happy taste buds

Hi Anna :D

Look at you, little water baby!  Your last post had me a bit worried though. Definitely don't want you drifting and getting yourself scratched from the reefs. Robinson Crusoe washed ashore came to mind. However all these snorkeling posts are making me want to go exploring with you. Because you live a bit further away and I don't know your area well it'll feel like I'm going on an extra mini holiday.

I had a great week that went quickly. I've been indulging too much this week trying new things that is food related and not enough exercising. That's alright, makes up for next week which will be a rather quiet one and hopefully get the chance to be a bit more active.

I think the calender on the iphone is deteriorating my memory. I actually struggled to recall what I did a few days ago and also what is coming up. What helps is going through the photos on the phone. What is annoying though is that I can't rotate pictures on blogger. I think it has something to do with photos taken on iphone too. I always feel like it's takes ages for me to blog because of these little annoyances.  I wasn't going to put up the right side up ones but I had already uploaded them and it annoyed me that I wasted my time.

 Thursday night at Tong 86 with the old PCEC crew. Loved it and loved Icey Ice even more! Haha! Gosh it's been ages since I had Korean BBQ and the second time I've had this amazing dessert.

I loved how half of us came in exercise gear. That is the way to do it!

Friday was after work drinks at The Aviary to celebrate an early birthday for Alicia.

We were  impressed with their small serving plates. We had the salt and pepper squid and I was amazed at the taste of the little red peppercorns. We also had the bourbon pork (I think?!) and the wonton and truffle dip.

Why this photo can be rotated is beyond me.

 Saturday was a big day for Jen's hens. We had delectable sweets and savouries and carried on to drinks at Print Hall and dancing at Tiger Lils. We had too much fun getting random guys to get all but three sweets off Jen's sash.

Stretching out the no-clothes-shopping I've put on myself,  I wore this yellow dress hauled back from London and my fabulous necklace thanks to HW. I have labelled it my Olympics necklace because that was when it made it's debut at the men's hockey games. There was a request to wear a hairpiece for the hens and I thought about making one out of felt again, but my brains sparked when I was parking into the garage in the morning and noticed the roses in the front garden. Closer to the afternoon tea, I popped out  to snip  two roses and a tiny bud for my floral hairpiece. It was a hot 33C day and of course the roses wilted by the end of the day but hey it was free and smelt lovely.

The better angle of me

Cute little bites. The lemon tarts had the perfect sweet citrus combination. They are the ones with the meringue on top.  Having the scones reminded me of high tea in London.

Known these ladies since we were kids! Still can't believe Jen's getting hitched. She's the role model child that all parents compare their child to. Little did they know...

With the bridesmaid at the ladies in Print Hall. Big mirrors = perfect for selfies

Today I had a scrumptious brunch at The Cool Room in Freo. Out of all the brunch places I've been to since coming back, this is definitely a place I'm coming back to.

Finally caught up with uni buddies for brunch

Turkish toast, smoked salmon and mushrooms. The Turkish toast was delicious! I need to know how to make it.

Looking so sleepy. Argh.. can't do these late nights on Sat anymore.

Next door was an antique store. Only managed to have a quick look to avoid having Satoko and Elaine waiting for me. I could've spent a good hour trawling through all the items. Love my secondhand items!

 Not so modern now but  I love old hardcover children's books!

I'm getting back into my arts and crafts again. Haven't done any drawing but I'm getting into a new project. Getting ready to make something. I'll reveal it to you once it's finished :)

Can you see something from you?

Time to get ready for a new week. The kids are going on an excursion to the Fremantle's Maritime Museum on Tuesday which I am looking forward to because I've never been there before.

Night :)

Summer is finally here!

Hi Anna

YAY happea days you are loved too :) I'm glad you found The Alchemist so inspiring and everything that you wrote was exactly how I felt after reading it too which was why I wanted to share the book with you.

Yesterday I went to Borough Markets with Chrissy and Alex. It was a splendid sunny Saturday and it had to be spent outdoors. On Friday I tried to organise picnic at Hampstead Heath but the only confirmation I got was from Chrissy so we thought we'd go to Borough Markets and for a walk along the Thames instead.

With our apple/orange cranberry juice

Along Thames River. Such a sweet couple aww!

Where we were walking. I wish London was like this everyday!!!

What a grand idea! Socialising, exercising and drinking all in one.Would love to do this. Maybe someone in Perth can start a barcycle?

It was truly a beautiful day and there was so many people around you could really feel the change of mood. I was infinitely happier to have direct contact with the sunshine rays although I came back home a little sunburned.

About a couple of weeks ago I found out some exciting news and I went celebrating with Benny for a Mexican meal and we watched American Pie Reunion. I have to say it was very funny to start off with, but I fell asleep towards the end. I cannot stay up after 10pm! I've  really enjoyed having him around although we have our little bickers. Currently he is somewhere in Italy doing his first ever backpacking trip by himself. I'm a little worried for him being his first time and all but I am sure he will come back with a few good stories.

Green rice, beans and shredded pork

We also spent the next day wandering through town and visiting Chinatown to have some dumplings that I've been meaning to try. I have been buying all sorts of things to bring back with me including the cutest pair of salt and pepper shaker.  They will remind me of London and I love how the rabbits are facing in different directions.

I made oven baked chicken nuggets coated in cornflakes (which I had fun crushing) and herbs and invited Lauren over. I love cooking for other people and it was lovely to have my brother and Lauren try my first attempt of this recipe from Lauren's CSIRO recipe book.

Can't figure out how to rotate it on blogger!

I've been covering a reception class (5 year olds) and the students have been making Mr Grass Heads using stockings, grass seeds, and packing it in with sawdust. I think it's hilarious that they are multicultural. We forgot the mouths though.

To market! Two markets!

Dear Anna

Another week post from me :)

I can't believe it's been a week since my short post and my brother is here in London! As I type he is downstairs googling  and looking up accomodation. It's so strange to think that he is going through what I went through except of course he has a lovely sister to look after him!

I've been taking a lot of photos for you. Last Sunday I went to Shoreditch and the markets around Brick Lane including the Sunday Upmarket. I forget how much I LOVE secondhand shopping and looking through other people's junk. Something beautiful about old worn things that bears memories of the owner over the years. There were other things for sale and I searched high and low for something I liked but I only came out with a pair of vintage cute patent bow ballet flats with a tiny heel.

Bikes you can hire to cycle around London

Bags!

Lots of secondhand and new clothes sold

After you said the pic of me in Brighton with the lobster reminded you of Simpsons, it stuck in my mind and this knitted prawn brooch reminded me of you mentioning it! I love the dog brooch too and I thought of you. This store had really cool designer jewellery but they were so expensive :(

I had the chicken one and they were delicious! Very similar to the Malaysian curry puffs.

Some of the newer items for sale

Section of the market

Street performer with ball

East side. Plenty of Indian restaurants on Brick Lane.

The crowd

Ta da! Haven't worn them out yet!

 On Thursday morning I woke up nice and early to meet my brother at the airport. Turns out he was there before I was. I have a bad habit of being late to airports and making people wait! Yikes! He brought 3 boxes of SHAPES for me. I miss these biscuits the most and I can't justify paying £4 a box here from Selfridges. BBQ shapes were devoured first :)

Happy? YES!

My Venus fly trap has not been able to catch any insects but it is still alive! In fact, I allowed it to flower by mistake resulting in this strange looking singe stalk. After googling I found out that I shouldn't let that happen as it prevents the fly traps from growing.

My cacti and odd looking flower stalk of venus fly trap

Yesterday I felt a bit lonely and it was nice that Pene was free and she even made me lunch! I love being cooked for. On my way there I walked past my old place. Big sigh!

Pene made pan fried mackerel and salad with a delicious onion soya dressing that I must get off her :)

Do you notice something about these photos?

Shops I took for granted when I lived in Hampstead

Miss it all the time!

I want to live in one of these mansions

Like the three colours of my shoes, book and bag. I picked up this old book filled with English/ Irish proverbs from Oxfam.Was a lot of fun to read and I love how it's cloth bound embossed with gold lettering.

Finally, today I went to Portobello Market. My brother went and explored south London and I met up with Chrissy! I don't know about her but I had a lot of fun looking at bric a brac and all sorts. It was funny hearing her tell me about her morning experience cycling in London on the Barclay's bikes you saw in the pic above. There are crazy drivers out there and I have to praise anyone that is gutsy enough to have a go on the road.

Tourists everywhere

Avoided going in there in case I leave with a pet fish or something like that.

Lost soles/souls haha!

Found this fantastic secondhand shop on my way home.

I went home with this old suitcase for £25 . It's the cutest and the lining has pink areoplanes all over it. Will take a picture of me carrying it and also to show you the lining.

Chrissy helped me pick this one out. £5 It's a French fashion magazine cover. that I'm going to frame one day. Can you spot something peculiar about this? It was the reason why I bought it! A talking piece.

 Nautical tin and rabbit for £3. My mantel is looking a little crowded.

 I suddenly have this impulse to buy all things vintage, decorative and pretty. I think after talking to Pene and her secondhand/ opshopping has brought up my old habits once again. I don't know how I am going to cart all these items back with me. One thing I love about London is that there are so many beautiful old items to be had!

That's all for now.
Enjoy :)